More and more parents are reverting to packing lunches until school cafeterias clean up their junk food acts -- but here's the catch: It's easy to sabotage your own good intentions. Avoid these lunchbox fillers like the measles -- they're not good for your kids' health or their waistlines!
1. Juice drinks We all know soda is as nutritious as sugar water, but drinks "made with real juice" aren't much better. Just 1 ounce of raspberry or peach punch, iced tea, and other sweetened fruit drinks can contain over a teaspoon of high-fructose corn syrup -- and it's about as healthy as trans fat. Among other things, the syrup seems to throw off the body's weight-regulating mechanisms. If you wouldn't feed your children pure sugar, think twice about dropping these drinks into their lunch bags.
Better choices Water, low-fat milk, V8, one of the fruit-veggie juice blends (Vruit, Juice Plus), or a small container of 100% fruit juice. Real fruit juice is better than juice drinks but it's still high in sugar and calories, so watch quantities.
2. Cold cuts Even though meat sandwiches are the most common lunchbox entrée for elementary school kids, they shouldn't be everyday fare. Bologna and other processed meats -- yes, even turkey Lunchables -- are brimming with saturated fat (9 g, nearly half the recommended daily value), sodium (1140 mg, about half the daily max), and preservatives.
Great replacements Check out these easy, kid-friendly lunch ideas.
3. Whole-milk, fruit-topped yogurt Although yogurt's filled with vitamins D, B12, protein, and calcium, whole-milk yogurt has lots of fat too, much of it saturated. What's more, yogurt that's topped (or bottomed) with a jam-like fruit mix can pack almost as much sugar as a candy bar!
Far smarter Choose low-fat yogurts and pack a container of berries or fresh fruit chunks for your child to dunk or stir in.
4. Fruity roll-ups Two problems here, unfortch. First, many brands have only a smidgen of fruit and maybe some fiber. A puree of apples or pears from concentrate comprises about one third of a roll-up; the other two thirds are additives and sugar. Second, these stretchy fruit strips are so sugary and sticky that they cling to teeth long after they're gone, creating the perfect environment for cavities -- especially if your child doesn't brush after lunch (do you know one who does?).
Better bet If your child loves these, buy all-natural brands and reserve them for after-school treats, followed by a brushing.
5. The obvious -- or maybe not: potato chips No matter how much we wish it weren't true, these snacks (cheese puffs, too) are as bad as it gets. Consisting mostly of fat and sodium, they're actually worse than empty calories. But that's not the surprise. This is: Potato chips are the #1 lunchbox snack among little kids -- they're given to 55 percent of K-5 students.
Savvy substitute Try a new crispy-thin snack we just taste-tested called Garden Harvest Toasted Chips. From Nabisco, they have a satisfying chip-like crunch, are made from whole grains, and have the equivalent of a half serving of veggies or fruit. So why would kids go near them? Because they don't taste, you know, healthy.
Your reward for making all those lunches? Kids who get into the habit of eating fiber-rich foods now -- which include all fruits and veggies -- are likely to stick with this healthy habit as adults. If they do, by age 32 their RealAge could be only 29.
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